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House
File
2486
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2486
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
681)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
student
dress
code
policies
of
public
1
schools,
charter
schools,
and
innovation
school
zones,
and
2
including
applicability
provisions.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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2486
Section
1.
Section
256E.7,
subsection
2,
Code
2026,
is
1
amended
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraph:
2
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
0l.
Be
subject
to
and
comply
with
the
3
requirements
of
section
279.58
relating
to
student
dress
code
4
policies
in
the
same
manner
as
a
school
district.
5
Sec.
2.
Section
256F.4,
subsection
2,
Code
2026,
is
amended
6
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraph:
7
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
v.
Be
subject
to
and
comply
with
the
8
requirements
of
section
279.58
relating
to
student
dress
code
9
policies
in
the
same
manner
as
a
school
district.
10
Sec.
3.
Section
279.58,
Code
2026,
is
amended
by
striking
11
the
section
and
inserting
in
lieu
thereof
the
following:
12
279.58
School
dress
code
policies.
13
1.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
public
school
district
shall
14
adopt
a
dress
code
policy
for
students
in
grades
kindergarten
15
through
twelve
requiring
students
to
dress
in
attire
that
is
16
all
of
the
following:
17
a.
Appropriate
for
an
educational
setting.
18
b.
Presentable,
promoting
personal
hygiene,
neatness,
and
19
modesty.
20
2.
The
dress
code
policy
required
in
this
section
must
apply
21
to
all
school-related
activities,
including
regular
school
22
hours,
extracurricular
activities,
and
school-sponsored
events,
23
unless
otherwise
specified
by
the
school
district.
24
3.
The
dress
code
policy
required
in
this
section
must
25
include,
at
a
minimum,
all
of
the
following
requirements:
26
a.
Clothing
must
be
clean,
in
good
repair,
and
free
of
27
language,
symbols,
or
images
that
promote
illegal
activities.
28
b.
Attire
must
adequately
cover
the
body,
and
clothing
that
29
exposes
undergarments
or
midriffs
shall
be
prohibited.
30
c.
Footwear
must
be
worn
at
all
times
and
shall
be
31
appropriate
for
the
school
environment
to
ensure
safety
and
32
hygiene.
33
d.
Accessories
or
attire,
including
gang-related
attire,
34
that
the
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
determine
35
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2486
is
disruptive
to
the
health,
safety,
or
positive
educational
1
environment
of
students
and
staff
must
be
prohibited.
2
4.
a.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
may
3
establish
additional
dress
code
requirements
tailored
to
the
4
needs
of
its
student
population
that
are
consistent
with
this
5
section
and
do
not
infringe
upon
rights
protected
by
the
6
Constitution
of
the
State
of
Iowa
and
the
Constitution
of
the
7
United
States.
8
b.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
may
adopt
9
uniform
policies
or
specific
attire
guidelines,
including
10
requiring
collared
shirts,
specific
colors,
or
other
11
standardized
clothing,
as
determined
to
be
appropriate
by
the
12
board.
13
5.
a.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
shall
14
establish
procedures
for
enforcing
the
dress
code
policy,
15
including
clear
consequences
for
violations,
which
may
include
16
verbal
warnings,
parent
or
guardian
notification,
or
other
17
disciplinary
actions
consistent
with
the
district’s
student
18
conduct
policies.
19
b.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
shall
provide
20
reasonable
accommodations
for
students
based
on
religious
21
beliefs,
medical
needs,
or
other
circumstances
protected
under
22
state
or
federal
law.
23
6.
The
dress
code
policy
shall
be
clearly
communicated
to
24
students
and
parents
at
the
beginning
of
each
school
year
and
25
made
publicly
available
on
the
school
district’s
internet
site.
26
7.
The
dress
code
policy
shall
be
applied
uniformly
to
27
all
students
without
discrimination
on
the
basis
of
race,
28
color,
religion,
sex,
national
origin,
disability,
or
any
other
29
characteristic
protected
under
state
or
federal
law.
30
Sec.
4.
APPLICABILITY.
This
Act
applies
to
school
years
31
beginning
on
or
after
July
1,
2026.
32
EXPLANATION
33
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
34
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
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This
bill
relates
to
student
dress
code
policies
of
school
1
districts,
charter
schools,
and
innovation
school
zones.
The
2
bill
requires
that
the
board
of
directors
of
a
public
school
3
district
adopt
a
dress
code
policy
applicable
to
students
in
4
kindergarten
through
grade
12.
The
bill
provides
that
the
5
dress
code
policy
shall
require
that
students
dress
in
attire
6
that
is
appropriate
for
an
educational
setting,
presentable,
7
and
promotes
personal
hygiene,
neatness,
and
modesty.
8
The
bill
further
establishes
minimum
standards
that
must
be
9
included
in
each
school
district’s
dress
code
policy,
including
10
that
clothing
is
clean,
in
good
repair,
adequately
covers
the
11
body,
and
that
footwear
is
worn
at
all
times
and
appropriate
12
for
the
school
environment.
The
bill
prohibits
clothing
13
that
contains
language,
symbols,
or
images
that
promote
14
illegal
activities,
and
clothing
that
exposes
undergarments
15
or
midriffs.
Accessories
or
attire,
including
gang-related
16
attire,
that
the
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
17
determine
is
disruptive
to
the
health,
safety,
or
educational
18
environment
are
also
prohibited.
19
The
bill
permits
the
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
20
to
adopt
additional
dress
code
requirements
and
uniform
21
policies,
provided
such
requirements
comply
with
the
bill,
22
the
Constitution
of
the
State
of
Iowa,
and
the
Constitution
23
of
the
United
States.
Each
school
district
must
establish
24
enforcement
procedures,
including
consequences
for
violations,
25
and
must
provide
reasonable
accommodations
for
students
based
26
on
religious
beliefs,
medical
needs,
or
other
circumstances
27
protected
by
state
or
federal
law.
28
The
bill
requires
that
dress
code
policies
be
communicated
29
to
students
and
parents
at
the
beginning
of
each
school
year
30
and
posted
on
the
school
district’s
internet
site.
The
bill
31
requires
dress
code
policies
to
be
applied
uniformly
and
32
without
discrimination.
33
The
bill
provides
that
charter
schools
and
innovation
school
34
zones
are
subject
to
the
requirements
of
the
bill
in
the
same
35
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2486
manner
as
a
school
district.
1
The
bill
applies
to
school
years
beginning
on
or
after
July
2
1,
2026.
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